April 12th, 2023 Day 99 of 128

A Corūna, Spain ( Partial day trip to Betanzos)

Good morning from our last port of call in Spain. I didn’t realize we had another one when we left Seville. Not used to the back and forth in a country like we’ve had this trip. This country is close to Portugal and definitely had a strong Portuguese influence. It is their primary language as well. We started our morning with an announcement from the Captain. That is not a typical occurrence so we knew something was up. Turns our there is quite a nasty storming brewing off the West coast of France so a decision has been made to cancel our next port of call in Brest, France. We will still have a sea day tomorrow and then the next day we sail into Portland, England early. We weren’t supposed to be there until Saturday, but now we will arrive there sometime Friday. We are still waiting for a time we can berth but we will now be there overnight. I know the captain is, as always, looking out for our safety and well being so we respect the decision that has been made. We headed up to the Lido to grab breakfast this morning before meeting our tour group in the Main Stage at 9:30am. We were off to take a scenic drive around A Coruna and then we arrived at our first stop, The Tower of Hercules, a Unesco world heritage sight. I think we have seen at least one a day since we have arrived in Europe. This lighthouse is still working today and it was originally built by the Romans in the first century. It is the oldest existing lighthouse known. The walls are 3 meters thick, the lighthouse is 55 meters high and the lighthouse is made up of over 3,000 granite blocks. At one time this was thought to be the “end of the world” before explores traveled west and discovered the Americas. There are lots of legends and folklore that go with the tower and if you are interested you can look it up. It was quite a hike up the hill to get the photos but the view was great taking and it was a great adrenaline rush to start the day, oh and we only had 20 minutes to do it. It was a beautiful way to view the sun rising over the Atlantic Ocean. Next we drove to Betanzos. Along the drive we saw the Coca Cola factory that was built here in the 1960’s. When we arrive to Betanzos, we had about 30 minutes of free time to take photos in the square, have a comfort break, and to grab an espresso. It was only about 53 degrees today and we needed our coats for the first time on land of this entire trip (we needed them once before for a boat trip). We then rejoined our tour guide for a walking tour of Betanzos. We visited several historic buildings and went inside two churches. I need to take pause here and express to you the overwhelming feeling of awe I experienced today realizing I was standing in front of and sitting on the steps of a church that was over 800 years old. The history here is just so old, unlike anything I ever experienced before, at least not that I appreciated it before. I was in Italy when I was 13, but I took what I was seeing for granted then. I am not today. We got to see them starting to remove special adornments in the churches that were put up for Holy Week. We also got to go inside a church that our tour guide told us doesn’t usually allow tourist into. There is a photo below of a mural with a light on it. The photo of the large wooden alter was recently moved as part of a restoration project and the mural was discovered behind it just this past November. This church was built in the 14th century and it wasn’t known to have been there. It was a very exciting discovery for this community. Next, we visited Iglesia San Francisco. The irony that yesterday we were in a town that made me homesick and reminded me of San Francisco, California and today we visited a church with its namesake, does not escape me. There was even a statue of Saint Michael (my son’s name) outside the church. The tombs within the church walls were beautiful done and the resting gothic statues were a tribute to those buried there. As we stepped out of the church we ran into two backpackers, grandfather and grandson, hiking their way through; The Camino de Santiago. They showed us their certificates of passport, that they had stamped along the way. The Way of St James became a major pilgrimage route of medieval Christianity from the 10th century onwards and is about 500 miles long. We then walked back to the bus and took a short ride to a waterside restaurant where we enjoyed tapas and wine before heading back to the ship. We arrived back to the ship around 2pm. The Captain changed our all aboard time this morning to 10:30pm so Megan and I went to our cabin to drop off our heavier jacket in exchange for light ones and then we went back out to walk around A Corūna. We were on a trek to try some “thick” hot chocolate that Gail ad Marty told us about. It has the constancy similar to pudding and it was delicious. We also went to the grocery store and to a empanada store. It was hard making a decision, so we actually got three. Next, we ventured into a shop where they sold cured meats. I fell in love with iberico ham in Amsterdam several years ago and I was able to purchase some today to bring home!! As we walked our way through the promenade shops there was a man singing in Spanish and the acoustics of his voice echoing off the walls of the buildings was as melodious as anything I had ever heard before. I could have sat and listened to him for hours. Lastly, we found a park and decided to “not” act of age for little while and we played on the swings and the slide. Before we knew it we had been off the ship almost three hours so we decided to walk back to the port. We walked over 12k steps today. We were back on the ship around 6pm and we couldn’t believe how late it was. The sun sets so much later here so it is hard to judge the time of day but the sun’s position in the sky. Again, we are not hungry for dinner and I don’t know if we will even eat tonight. We still have empanadas to finish too. Megan will probably go play cards tonight and we will both enjoy getting to sleep in as tomorrow is a sea day. I have absolutely loved my time in Spain and plan to return here again the future. Anyone want to come with me? Buenas Noches to you all from España.